The Search for The Labyrinth
by AshGrayBane
Summary: Ash is the only child of Lucifer. She is Magnus Bane's apprentice. Everything is good. Until Magnus' son Rafael is kidnapped. Then Ash and her new friend Rufus go on a perilous journey to find the Spiral Labyrinth, in the hopes they can find him. But as the clock ticks, Rafael's chances of survival grow smaller by the minute. Will Ash and Rufus find the Labyrinth in time?
1. The Mist

Watching from the kitchen, Ash Dark smiled as the Lightwood-Bane's ate their meal. She'd spent all afternoon making it, and was happy to see little Max with half of it all over his face. Rafael was making some big gestures as he talked, and Alec, his father was smiling.

Magnus was looking at her. She hadn't realised it, but she suddenly noticed and went back to work. The potion in front of her was only half done, and her client needed it for the next morning. Her wings ached beneath her hoodie, and she wondered if there was time to go out.

Glancing at the clock, she saw it was 6 o'clock. The potion needed 3 hours to cure, and another two for cooking. If she went out for a while, Ash wasn't going to be sleeping much tonight.

Her notebook said she needed to crush the demon fangs into the mermaid scales, and then to add the Drevak spines. She began her work, when a shadow fell over he mortar.

"You should take a break." Magnus had walked over to her station.

"No, Ms Dubs needs this potion for tomorrow morning. I am not about to lose my reputation. Anyways, at this rate if I get this part done in time, I can be done by 2." She blew a strand of grey hair out of her face. Ash poured the now smooth paste into the cauldron.

"And you have a lesson tomorrow. Don't wear yourself out, Ash." Magnus gave her a warning look, but she dismissed it. She needed to work. If she stopped, then she'd have to think. If she thought, then she'd remember who she was. She didn't want to remember. "We can't run from who we are. We need to accept it. You have incredible power, and you need to stop thinking of where it came from, and use it."

She threw down her notebook that she'd been studying, trying to block him out.

"How can I forget!? I am the literal child of the devil. I am Lucifer's daughter!" She threw her arms up in frustration. "I can't just accept that, Magnus. Maybe you need to accept. I will never be a Bane. I will only ever be a Dark."

Ash turned and headed towards the balcony, intent on flying to the nearest party and getting blackout drunk. If it hadn't been for Max's blood curdling scream, she would have.

Rushing to the living room, Ash saw Rafael and Max surrounded by black mist. They were warping, changing, growing. They didn't seem to be stopping.

Running forwards, she focused all her energy, all her power, everything, on pulling Max and Rafael out of the tornado of mist. Suddenly, they started to move, they were pulling towards her. Seconds passed, and soon enough, MAx and Rafael were in her arms.

But they were no longer the small toddlers she had watched giggle and laugh while eating. They had aged by at least 5 years, maybe more. Rafael looked 17, whereas Max looked 14, the same age Ash.

It was Alec that spoke first.

"R-r-raf?" His voice came out dry and thin, as if it could break at any moment.

"Dad?" Rafael's voice was low and full. Alec, stepped back, shocked, but then rushed forwards and pulled the boys into his arms, accidentally crushing Ash as well.

Ash, disentangled herself and sat down, panting. Everything was quiet for a while, as Magnus joined the family, and Ash watched as Alec began to sob quietly.

Ash stood up, and went back to her station, where she picked up her notebook and pen. She left the family clutching one another in the living room.

Stepping onto the balcony, she felt the crisp air touch her skin as she looked out on the city of Brooklyn. Slowly, carefully, she hoisted herself onto the railings. She stood up and breathed in deeply. Ash straightened her legs, and hoped her military boots wouldn't slip.

She pulled of her hoodie, and dropped it off of the balcony.

"Ash." It was Alec.

"What?"

"This wasn't your fault. You can't control it yet. You will. It just takes-"

"Time? Maybe it'd better if my time was spent away from good people. I've hurt enough of them."

"Ash, when Magnus found you, you were curled up in a ball in an alley. Your wings were damaged, you were almost blind. You had been beaten beyond belief. He didn't know if you'd survive. But you did because that's what you do. But even if you choose to leave, you are always welcome here, and I will never be able to repay you for saving my don't even know if it was you!"

"Goodbye, Alec."

She jumped off the balcony, letting herself fall until the very last moment, where she could almost see the dirt on the dumpster below. Then she pulled up, feeling the wind in her hair.

These were the moment she lived for, the moments where her marks felt like blessings.

Ash did not look like other warlocks. She had three demon marks, all "gifts" from her father.

The Shadowhunters had discovered Ash's existence just before Ash had actually been born. Her mother had raised her until she was 4, before she threw her out onto the streets in disgust. Magnus had been looking for her for months before he found her in an alleyway, having been brutally attacked by mundanes.

Her eyes had been scratched and bruised, because one was pink and cat-like, and the other was turquoise and human. Her head had been smashed against a wall until she was barely conscious, because of the blue ram horns spiralling out from it. Her back had been kicked and beaten until it was cut and bleeding because of the beautiful wings arching out from her back.

Magnus had took her in and raised her as his apprentice. Alec had just accepted her, but she didn't want to be part of his family. She didn't want to be part of any family.

Ash landed in Mainstreet. No one could see her. She walked down the street, pausing to look in a shop window.

Her hair was damp from the rain that had begun to fall. Her horns were slowly dripping too. Suddenly, Ash wished she hadn't abandoned her hoodie, because it was cold. Her band tee shirt hung damply from her pale shoulders, and her short shorts were sticking to her thighs. At least her feet weren't damp, covered by her buckled military boots and her thigh high socks. They didn't match but Ash didn't care.

Finally, she looked at her wings. They were like stained glass, made up of shattered glass-like flesh. Each shard of colour was either pink, blue or gray. They ended with jagged points, which didn't just make her wings transport, it made them weapons.

She met her own eyes in the window. Suddenly, she realised how much she hurt. How much she hated running when ever things got too hard.

She broke down crying, sprawling her legs out around her. She cried for the mother who hated her, for the father she never saw, for the family she'd ruined. She cried until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up, expecting Magnus or Alec, but instead there was only a boy. He was holding an umbrella, and wearing a kind smile.

"You could stay here, or you could come for a walk with me." His voice was surprisingly gentle.

"I don't even know you. You could be an axe murderer for all I know." She laughed in spite of herself.

"But I might not be." He held out his hand, still smiling.

She took it.

They walked in silence for a while, until they reached a tall apartment block. The boy pulled her over to the door, and took a moment to pull the umbrella down. It was then that Ash realised that the boy had large red antlers.

She fell back in surprise, and thudded to the ground. He looked over to her, and smiled slightly more.

"The antlers usually do phase people a little. Even my own kind it seems." He came over and helped her up, and she blushed a little.

"I was just surprised. I didn't think you were a warlock." She looked down at her feet, slightly ashamed she hadn't noticed.

"I'm Rufus by the way."

"I'm Ash."

They walked up the stairs making small talk. Thankfully they stayed away from the topic of why Ash had been crying in the rain when Rufus found her. She found out he was 14, and lived on his own, since his father had died in a freak accident. He found out she was adopted, and she pretended to have no clue about her excessive demon marks.

They reached his apartment, where they sat and talked some more.

"What were you doing on the street then, Ash?" Rufus said finally, after a few minutes of tense attempts to ignore it.

"I'd had a incident. I thought my family would be better off without me. So I left. And then everything built up and…" She trailed off, as she realised she was crying again. "this isn't a regular thing. This is the first time I've left." Then she really was crying, hard and fast.

Silently, Ash chastised herself for crying in a stranger's home. But she couldn't help it. She didn't want to be the girl who couldn't control her powers.

"Hey, it's okay." Rufus enveloped her into a hug, and they sat like that for a moment, her crying into his shoulder, and him patting her head.

"I think you need to go back. You need to accept what happened. Your family chose you; if they didn't want you they wouldn't have let you stay. You can stay until you figure it out, but you need to see them."

Ash was surprised how old the boy sounded. Then she realised. He'd probably killed his dad as a child. It wasn't uncommon that a warlock child lose control and kill a parent. He'd probably told himself this before.

She pulled away and looked at him. He was wearing a brown shirt with a collar, but no buttons. He'd tied a tie around the collar, and was wearing black suspenders. He was tall, and blonde and suited his antlers. Ash had to admit; Rufus was handsome.

"Can you come with me?"


	2. Tracking

Five minutes later, they were stood outside Magnus' door. Ash took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

Max answered it. He seemed to have recovered from the incident, and was less pale then when Ash had pulled him out.

"Ash! You're back! And you bought a friend…?" He looked at her questioningly, and she smiled awkwardly. "Come in, both of you. Magnus was just about to go look for you."

They all walked down the hallway, and into the living room.

It was chaos.

There were spellbooks everywhere, and parts of potions strewn around the room. Magnus was sat on the floor, tearing through the countless books. Alec was pacing around the room, running fingers through his hair. They both looked terrified.

"What's wrong?"

They both looked up at her, and she realised it was almost pleadingly.

"It's Raf. He's gone missing." Alec said.

"What?"

"Him and Max went to his room, and Max said there was another black mist. Max got out, but Raf didn't. Max said they didn't age this time, but they started to fade. Everything points to a portal being opened, but that's impossible."

"Is it? Nothing really seems impossible anymore." Rufus piped up.

"I mean, Magnus thinks it might be black magic; we did make a lot of enemies during the war but…" Alec trailed off.

"Have you tried a tracking spell?" Max asked. He had come in, and was leaning against the door. Ash wondered where he'd gotten his clothes. She hadn't seen them and his old ones must've been too small.

Magnus looked up, wide eyed.

"No. I'm busy here but maybe you could." He looked at Rufus, almost as if he hadn't realised he was there. "All of you, go to Raf's room and look for something he was close with. Ash, you lead the spell." He went back to his work, and Alec knelt down at a table and started to read too.

The trio went into the bedroom, and Max immediately found a blanket.

"It's his. I remember. He wouldn't go anywhere without it."

"Well, I guess it'll do. As long as he's had it in the last 24 hours." Ash shrugged, and took the blanket to her room.

Closing her eyes, she focused on scorching a pentagram into the floor. The lines began at different point, curling and straightening until a pentagram was formed.

"Now grab the blue bottle from the top left shelf, and give it here." She ordered, her eyes still shut. The bottle was thrust into her hand. Ash took a deep breath and stepped into the pentagram. Opening, the bottle, she walked around three times whilst pouring the liquid inside around the circle. She opened her eyes, and grabbed the blanket.

Placing it in the middle, Ash stepped out of the pentagram and gestured for everyone to stand in a circle around it.

"Hold hands, and repeat after me."

She took a deep breath and began chanting. She clasped Rufus' warm hand and Max's surprisingly cold one.

The heat in the room suddenly pulled away, and for the second time that night, Ash regretted her band shirt.

Out of nowhere, wind began to blow from within the circle.

"Don't let go!" She shouted. The wind became more and more intense, until a window smashed and books and pages begun to fly around the room. An image began to form in the now thick tornado, and Ash saw it was Raf. Looking to Max, she saw his face clouded with fear. The girl gripped his hand tighter.

Raf was chained, in what appeared to be a dungeon. He was wearing plain black clothes, and his face was bruised and bloody. Thankfully, he did not appear to have aged anymore or any less.

"I don't know where she is! I wouldn't tell you if I did!" Raf's voice came from the tornado, warped and thin.

"You will tell me, Rafael, or suffer the consequences." Another voice, a stranger's, came from the wind.

"I would rather die!"

"Not yet, my child."

A pair of legs stepped in front of Raf and began kicking and beating him. Looking to Max, his face was now horror-stricken. Ash yanked her hands away from the circle, throwing the group into the walls.

Ash hit her shelves, and they came crashing down on her. It took her a moment, but she managed to throw them off of her and survey the damage to her room.

Alec and Magnus had come in, and were holding a crying Max. Rufus appeared to have flown out of the room all together, and was collapsed on the floor.

Her room was destroyed. Pages of her books had been strewn everywhere, some had even been burned by potions that had smashed. Her shelves were completely destroyed, and she realised she had glass shards in her hands and wings, and was soaked in potions.

"What happened?" Alec turned on her, his fists clenched.

"We saw Raf. He was chained up, in a dungeon or something. There was a man, he was interrogating him about someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know! But he told him he'd rather die than tell. The man told him not yet. He said, my child as well, and called him by his full name." Ash's vision blurred, and she realised she hadn't eaten at all that day.

"Alexander, I think we need to call it a day. Max is terrified. He may have the body and mind of a teenager, but from what I've heard, the sight of his brother is a little too much." Magnus picked up Max, and carried him out of the room. Alec followed, stepping over Rufus.

Ash went over to him, and picked him up too. She rested him on the, thankfully, still standing bed. For the next few hours, he would sleep and she would clean.

By 3 am, the room was clear again, and Ash was close to collapsing. Her magic had depleted severely, although this would have been fine if she had eaten.

Closing the door behind her, Ash headed to the kitchen. Magnus and Alec were curled up against each other, sleeping and Ash smiled. She summoned a blanket and put it over them, and removed the book from Alec's lap.

She loved this family. They protected her, kept her safe. She wasn't part of the family, but they didn't care. To them, she was.

There was a box of untouched pizza in the fridge, and Ash helped herself. Pulling herself up onto the counter, she checked the flavor; pepperoni, her favourite. Within minutes she'd eaten the entire thing, and was watching the floating box burn.

"You'll hurt yourself." Rufus was at the door, smiling again.

"I don't care."

"I've been thinking."

"What, that you've had enough of Oz and you'd like to go home? Door's down the hall buddy. Thanks for the help." Ash went back to her box.

"No… I've been thinking that the Spiral Labyrinth might know something."


	3. The Labyrinth

"You're insane." Ash stared at him. There was no way they knew anything, none at all… could they? Even if there was, they didn't even know where the Labyrinth was. It was difficult to get anything from warlocks, because it was rumoured that a spell was placed on every warlock from birth, that if they revealed the location of the Labyrinth, they would die an unimaginably painful death. Most warlocks were told by the warlock that trained them, but Magnus was never trained, so Ash didn't know.

"I know, but I've heard a rumour in the underground. There's a map, made by a rogue group of warlocks. They supposedly shattered it into 6 pieces, one for each. But the Labyrinth sent warriors after them, and one by one the pieces were lost and their owners killed."

"That's a _fairy tale_ Rufus. Hell, I heard Alec telling Max and Raf the same story _last week_. There is absolutely no way that it could be-"

"True. The story is true. I've heard the same tale over many many years, Ashrith, and it is not a new one. I know because I killed the last Holder." Magnus had appeared at the door. His hair was slightly bedraggled, and his eyeliner was smudged. Ash winced at the mention of her full name.

"Okay," She looked at both Rufus and Magnus, gesturing wildly. "Assuming your fairy tale is true, and we get to the Labyrinth, then what? We confront the first person we see and say, 'Hey, my friend went missing, you seen him?'It's a warlock sanctuary. No Shadowhunter is going to be there."

"We're not hoping he's there, we're hoping someone might know who took him. And don't think I don't know you consider him a brother. So even if the idea is ludicrous, ridiculous, outrageous, even, it may still work. It may still find your brother." Magnus looked at Ash, wondering if she'd break.

"Fine." She sighed. "So I don't suppose you know where our lead is, Magnus?"

"Peru."

"I thought you were banned from Peru?"

He tapped his nose, and turned back to the living room. "Also, I'll be sorely vexed if you two do not kiss at least once during your trip."

And with that Magnus had left.

"Well that was something." Rufus said, leaning against the counter next to where Ash was sitting.

"Shut up." She hopped off the counter and got a dustpan and brush from the cupboard. She began to clean up the abandoned ashes of the pizza box.

"You know, Ashrith, you have magic."

"I am aware, Rufus. And don't call me Ashrith." She emptied the waste into the bin and looked at Rufus. For once he wasn't smiling. He was looking thoughtfully at her, although his eyes did appear to be smiling. She usually hated smiling eyes, but they suited him. They lit up his face like a christmas tree. Ash wondered what would happen if the lights went out.

"So when do we leave?" He rubbed his hands together.

"Tomorrow morning, I suppose. Give me time to gather what we need."

"What do we need?"

"I suppose potion ingredients, books, clothes. I'm supposed to be a healer's apprentice, so I should keep up the practice, even if my skills lie elsewhere."

"Where?"

Ash looked at him to check he wasn't being sarcastic. Then she realised; he didn't know who she was. He had no reason to suspect her.

"In the battle field. I can do other things, things other warlocks can't do."

"Like?"

"Fly for one thing." Ash gripped her arm. She usually didn't have to explain. People avoided her naturally. "Teleport. Read minds, but not all the time. I have to concentrate for that one. And slightly darker things I don't want to talk about."

"How? I've never met anyone like you." Rufus was smiling at her again. She suddenly realised how dark the room was. She snapped her finger, and grey electricity sizzled at her fingertips. It flew up to the lights and suddenly they were on."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, not like that. You just seem so open. Not that that's a bad thing."

"If I tell you, you won't like me anymore."

"Like you?" He was smirking.

"Stop being a jerk." Ash threw a cup at him. It stopped in the air, and slowly landed on the counter, all while glowing red. "Nice catch."

"Thank you. Anyways, you seem fine. Why wouldn't I like you?"

"Because people don't like the devil's daughter." Studying the sink, she waited for his reply.

"The devil? As in Lucifer? Fallen angel?" He said after a few moments.

"Yeah. Beelzebub. Satan. _The Devil_." She noticed the tap was dripping. It wouldn't tighten.

"Cool."

"What?" She whipped around to face him.

"Cool." Rufus grinned. "You're stronger than us. Who cares who your dad is? The rest of us don't."

"But I thought your father was mundane?"

"He was. My mother was an actual demon. So suppose it doesn't count for me, but still. Cool parentage."

Ash was too shocked to say anything. No one had ever accepted it quite like Rufus had. There was beating, spitting, cursing, abuse. No one just said it was cool and moved on.

"You okay there?"

"I'm going to take a nap." She stumbled out of the room and somehow made her way to her room, passing Magnus and Alec, who were once again cuddling. They were awake again, and Magnus seemed to be comforting Alec.

Sinking into her bed, Ash brought her knees up to her face. So much had happened in less than twelve hours, and Ash couldn't help but feel it was her fault. Maybe if she hadn't left, she could have pulled Raf out of the mist again. She could have protected him. But instead she was crying in the arms of a complete stranger, like some sort of American chick-flick.

Deciding it was too early to sleep, she stood up and started to pack.

Books flew up to her face, and then either went into her bag, or back to her shelf. Clothes folded themselves into the bag too. Makeup, food, her emergency potion kit all went in, until at last her most used possessions were in her bag and the gaps around her room seemed like holes in the wall.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" It was Max.

"Doesn't anyone know how to knock anymore?" She murmured. "Yeah I am. Me and Rufus are gonna look for something help Raf."

"I don't care where you go, or what you do. But please, just bring him home. I need him back." Max was crying, and Ash pulled him for a hug.

"I will Max, okay? I'll bring him home for you. I promise."


	4. The Twins

They hugged until Max fell asleep, which is when Ash disentangled him, and placed him between Magnus and Alec in the living room. Alec instinctively threw his arm over Max, even though he was sleeping.

Watching them for a moment, Ash thought back to the last time she had seen her mother.

She had been 11. Magnus had been training her for 7 years, and, after brewing her first potion, Ash thought she was finally ready to go see her mother again. All that time, she had thought her mother had abandoned her in disgust, because Ash couldn't do what warlocks were supposed to.

She'd worn her best dress, a grey long sleeved one, with a lace neck. After spending an hour in the mirror, checking the seams on her wing pockets, checking her horns were clean, Ash had finally returned to her childhood home.

The door was black, and loomed up above her. There was a sick feeling in her stomach. And, after an age, she had knocked.

The answer was almost immediate. A frazzled, middle aged woman was fumbling through what appeared to be a key bowl. But she stopped in shock at the sight of Ash.

The shock quickly turned to disgust.

"You." She'd spat. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. Any righteous, god-fearing woman would have. But no, I just had to leave you in the street. I thought those men had finished you off. I didn't have to think of you. But clearly, my mistakes keep coming back."

Each word had been like a slap to the face.

"Go away. Go away and never return or I will send hordes of gangs and killers after you until I _know_ you're gone." Then the door slammed in her face.

A single tear slipped down Ash's face. Even now, three years later, those words were still like scars on her forehead. Occasionally Ash would put the dress back on, and walk down to the house, But she would never knock. She would just stand there, covered by a glamour so that even if her mother did leave the house, she would just walk straight through. Ash never went in, she just watched her mother come and go, and wondered why someone seemingly so lovely and beautiful could hold so much hate.

So suddenly she surprised herself, Ash summoned her bag, scrawled a note to Magnus and Alec, and called Rufus. He was in the study.

"Yeah?" She noticed he was reading her notebook. She didn't care.

"Change of plan. We're leaving now."

"What? Why?"

"We just are."

"Okay." He looked confused, but still open to the idea.

Ash was halfway to the door when Rufus cleared his throat.

"You know, we could use some help."

"What do you mean?" Ash was confused.

"I know a couple of girls. They could help. They're twins, trackers. Also, they're Shadowhunters, but I don't think that's a problem." He said, glancing at Alec.

"Of course not. Where are they?"

"The local Institute. I could text them, they'd be ready by the time we got there."

"Good. Now let's go." Ash hurried out the door, trying to ignore Rusus' frantic shouts, as he pulled on his boots.

She was halfway down the street before Rufus caught up.

"Hey, the Institute's that way, where are going?" He looked up and down the street, half expecting something of interest to pop up out of nowhere.

"My mother's."

"What? Why?"

"Because I need to see her before I go, and she always goes out at 5am Friday nights."

"Huh. Okay." He was out of breath as he tried to catch up.

They reached the door, and Ash took a deep breath, preparing to glamour them. There was no need, because Rufus had already knocked on the door.

"Rufus, no!" Ash cried out. Thinking fast, she grabbed his arm and forced herself to become invisible. He struggled, but she just gripped tighter and hissed at him to shut up.

The door unlocked, and her mother stood there branding a shotgun.

"Shit." Rufus whispered. It was the first time Ash had heard him swear; she had been trying to stop in front of Max and Raf.

"I heard that." She shot the gun.

The bullet tore through Ash's skin, and she let go of Rufus, falling to the ground. She was visible again, and Ash's mother was staring down at her, the gun pointed at her forehead.

"Go ahead." She whispered, her voice full of hawas brandishing a te. Even after visiting this women for three years straight, she still hated what she'd done and said.

"Oh I will." Ash closed her eyes. "Then I'll kill lover boy, in the name of God."

"Rufus, go away. For your own good, go." She heard footsteps, and relaxed again. The gun cocked. Ash took a deep breath knowing it was her last.

And nothing.

Opening her eyes, she saw the gun lying on the floor, with a hand still clutching the trigger. A silver object was lodged in the wall behind her. Trying to stop herself from gagging, she turned and saw two girls, each clothed in thick black leather. One was holding a throwing axe, and had her arm outstretched as if she'd just thrown something. Ash realised; the girl had thrown the axe.

"I'm Lyssa." The girl was walking towards her.

"I'm Ash."

"We know." The blonde girl was walking towards her too. "I'm Ri."

They hauled up Ash's mother and dragged her back into the house. They dialled the police and left the house, gently shutting the door.

"So where's Rufus?" Ri asked, polishing what appeared to be a crossbow bolt.

"I'm down here." Rufus stood up from behind the trash cans lying at the bottom of the steps.

"Cool. Let's get out of her. Peru, did you say?" Lyssa looked at her quizzically.

"Yeah. Peru."

She took a moment to take in the girl's appearances. Their similarities stopped at their gear. They may have been twins, but they were not even a little identical.

Lyssa was tall, with a broad figure and bright green eyes. Her hair was short and red, and she kind of reminded Ash of Clary Fairchild, a frequent visitor in the Lightwood-Bane household. From what she could see, Lyssa had a backpack full of weapons of all sorts. Ash swore she could see a pink stuffed horn sticking out from one of the pockets.

Ri was the opposite. With her petite frame and dull blue eyes, she seemed like a leader. Her back held only a quiver, and in her hand Ri had a black crossbow, inscribed with runes.

Ash couldn't see many marks on them, although she could see two peeking up from Ri's collar.

"Let's go."


	5. A Faerie

And that was how Ash, Rufus, Lyssa and Ri found themselves breaking into the Brooklyn Institute.

"It's your fault, Lys, you got us locked out!" Ri grunted, as she pushed against a window on the first floor.

"Hey, I was told we wouldn't be returning. It's not _my_ fault someone didn't tell us we were portaling to Peru." She glared at Rufus.

"Hey, you guys have been hired on a need-to-know basis." He smiled.

""Hiring" implies we're being paid."

"Friendship discount."

The window suddenly gave way, and everyone sighed in relief. There was a snigger from behind them. They all turned to see a tall faerie sat on a gargoyle.

"You know, I swear the Nephilim can be granted access to any religious building." The faerie smirked. "Throught the _front_ door."

Ash laughed.

"Okay, Faerie girl, so what? Maybe we just wanted to break in!" Rufus hissed, defensively.

The Faerie shrugged. "Seems pretty futile to me."

"You don't talk like the Fae." Ash said. The girl looked at her, cocking her head to the side.

"You don't look like an average warlock."

"I'm much more than average, darling."

"I'm sure you are. Anyway. I don't talk like a Fae, because I refuse to be part of them. I enjoy the company of other Downworlders. I can't shake of the parts of the lingo though."

Ash looked at her outfit. It appeared to be made of her body. Her legs were coated in bark like scales and her arms covered by ice like sleeves that came from the small stubs around her collar bone. The girl's "shirt" was an assortment of pine needles, also coming from her shoulders. The outfit was white, but also appeared to be blue, even with navy tones within everything. But it was the girl's head that intrigued Ash.

All around her head, twig-like stems sprouted from her forehead area. They slowly turned into her deep, shoulder length platinum hair. The girl's eyes, like Ash's were two different colours, except one was an ice like blue, and the other was completely black, signifying her allegiance to the Unseelie Court.

"Ah, you noticed the eyes. I don't follow the Unseelie King, I just accept my ancestors." she winked at Ash, who smiled back.

"Okay, now that you guys have finished flirting, I think it's time to leave." Ri glared at the girl and hopped through the window. "Come on."

"Do you want to come with us?" Ash blurted out. She didn't know why she said it, but it seemed logical.

"I don't even know you, warlock girl. You could be an axe-murderer."

"But I might not be." She said, smiling at Rufus. She could swear Lyssa mumbled something about being an axe-murderer under her breath. Ash chose to ignore her.

"You don't even know my name. You must be extremely stupid."

"Well, what is your name?"

The girl studied Ash for a moment, and shrugged. "I'm Isadora." She held out her slightly spiky hand, and Ash took it.

"So, Isadora, wanna come?"

"Where are we going?"

"Peru. We're looking for the Labyrinth."

"I suppose. But I cannot enter the Institute."

"Why not?" Ash was puzzled.

"Because of the Cold Peace. She steps inside, she's fair game for everyone inside." Ri was watching from the window, slightly bored.

"Then we fly." Ash unfurled her wings, relaxing as they stretched out.

"You won't be able to fly for that long." Rufus said, his brows creased together. Ash noticed they were similar to the colour of his eyebrows was very similar to that of his eyes and freckles. She wondered whether he had ever been teased for having cheekbones that sharp and freckles that noticeable. It certainly didn't make him any uglier.

"Sure I can. I'm starting to doubt whether or not Isadora could keep up, even." Ash said, turning to Isadora.

"I assure you, that will not be a problem." Isadora stood up, and what Ash assumed to be a cape parted and lifted far above her head. Her wings were navy blue and silky, and had veins that shone iridescently in the light. They were like Ash's wings. They were beautiful, but in their own way. Ash's wings' beauty was raw, like a stained glass window. Isadora's were elegant, like a ballgown or a ornate mirror. "See if you can catch up, Warlock Girl."

Isadora took off, and Ash smiled. She ran, stepped up onto the railing and threw herself into the air. Lyssa and Rufus ran out, only to see Ash winking at them as she plummeted to the ground below.

Grinning, Ash turned and, again, pulled up at the very last second, this time grazing her knee slightly.

It took her merely seconds to catch up with Isadora.

"It appears you're not as weak as you look. Maybe less of the showboating; you wasted time and injured yourself." The other girl looked to Ash's bleeding knee.

"Who cares? That's barely a bruise to me."

"I advise that you do not treat your life with such recklessness. I have known few warlocks, but I'm certain that attitude doesn't prolong life."

"Calm down, Princess."

"I don't like sarcasm."

"I apologise. It's just you're speaking like the Queen of England."

"She seems like a vaguely cool person."

"Vaguely? She owns two corgis! That's like cool aunt cool."

Isadora looked at her. Ash smiled, and beat her wings. She was propelled through the air, and Isadora was keeping up easily.

They flew for hours, barely breaking a sweat. Finally, as the sun was just rising, they reached Peru.

The girls landed on a harbour, ignoring the stares from early waking sailors. However, when people started violently spitting Spanish curse words at them, Ash gave up ignoring them.

"Give me a minute." She held Isadora's hand, and willed herself to become invisible. Slowly, they faded until they were no longer visible. The crowd that had gathered around the girls dispersed, some falling in shock, others simply walking away.

They walked like this until they reached the high street, which was empty. It was only 6 am in Peru, and no one was awake to set up stalls yet. A few were, but not enough to warrant invisibility. Ash let Isadora's hand fall, and the other girl instantly became visible.

"Oh, be still my poor heart. I enjoyed the hand holding." The Faerie girl said, sarcastically.

"Shut up. We need to find an Institute. That's probably where they've portaled to."

"Fine. I say we try the underground. Always an ifrit or two in a drug den."

"Really? Your only idea is to find a drug den?"

"No, idiot. My idea is to find an abandoned church."

The girls had been wandering in the blistering heat for merely moments before Ash felt a knife at her throat.


	6. Sorry about the Next Chapter!

**Hi, author's note!**

 **Unfortunately, the next chapter has glitched, and will take about half an hour to update to the none glitched version. If you're nnot reading this fic on Tuesday 16th of August UK time, don't worry, it's probably been fixed!**


	7. The Shadowhunter

Ash let herself be dragged into the alleyway, besides them. The person holding her threw her to the ground. They straightened up and threw back the hood concealing their face. It was a local man, his features contorted into a scowl.

"Give me your money, freak." He spat, in rusty english.

"Not today, mate." She jumped to her feet, kicking him in the stomach and landing on him. He grunted and threw her back. Ash saw Isadora sneaking up behind the man, an ornate wooden looking dagger in her hand. She nodded to the wall, and Ash understood.

"Come on then. You want my money?" She summoned a wad of cash into her hand. "Come get it!"

The man lunged, but Ash dodged easily, laughing as the man fell to the floor. ]The man was on his feet again, and Ash swapped the cash for her knife sleeve. She punched the man in the arm, extending the knife as she did so. The man cried out in pain.

"Sorry, but I wouldn't mess with me if I were you."

She threw him against the wall, and he writhed and fought against the grey mist that held him up there. Isadora gestured to let him down, and Ash did so. She stepped back, and as the man ran one last time, Isadora lunged and plunged the dagger into his shoulder.

Walking up to him, Ash stared at him pitifully.

"I warned you. You could have ran, but you had to fight. If you hadn't tried to kill me, I would've said you were brave." The man stared in shock as Ash knelt down and pulled his face towards hers. "I hope you had a nice life. Shame it had to end so soon." And with that she released the knife and watched as it shot through the man's skull, killing him instantly.

"I'd say that wasn't necessary, but I suppose he could have said we tried to kill him. I'm sure that would do wonders for our search."

"I just don't particularly like street scum."

"I don't suppose your favorite film is Aladdin?" Isadora asked.

"At least he had morals. He stole for his monkey, and so he didn't die. That guy was wearing fairly expensive clothing. He was robbing me because he could."

"Seems weird for a street rat to be wearing clothes like that though." Isadora mused.

"I didn't think you'd notice."

"I stuck a dagger in his shoulder, you don't think I didn't notice the silk vest?" She laughed.

"Either way." Ash said, curious how much Isadora actually noticed. "The guy's dead, let's find something to change into."

"What?"

"We can't wander the streets in blood stained clothes. We need to change."

"I see no point; we already stick out."

"Exactly." Ash sighed, wiping blood off of her knife. "We don't need to stick out anymore."

They reached the end of the street. It opened up into a massive market square, selling everything from incense to imported apples. They easily found a stall selling clothes, and they bought the cheapest they could find.

"And how do you suppose we change, Warlock Girl?" Isadora asked.

"My name's Ash."

"You hadn't told me that," Isadora paused. "It is a nice name."

"Thanks. Yours too."

"But you didn't answer my question."

"Alleyway? I mean, look at us. We can't get much bloodier."

Isadora shrugged, and they sought out the closest alleyway. They changed quickly, with Isadora pulling the clothes over her skin uncomfortably; Ash felt sorry for her. Technically she was naked, and it can't feel good pulling at your own skin. They were about to leave when they heard hushed voices.

"We need to get out of here."

"Shut up, El! We have to wait until Fenrar shows up. Angel help us if we leave before then."

The girls eyed each other. Ash closed her eyes, and focused on Isadora's energy.

Stay here. I have a plan.

Isadora stared, wide-eyed at Ash. She winked and walked into the alleyway. As she walked, she glamoured herself into a tall Shadowhunter women, who looked very much like Lyssa.

"Excuse me. I cannot find the Institute. I was told it was around here." She said, hoping she sounded believable.

"Of course. It's down the street. Keep walking until you come across a tall bleak looking building. I'm sure you know what to do from there." A tall, dark haired man smiled knowingly at her. "I hope to see you at the meeting tonight?"

"Oh no." Ash smiled. "I am meeting a friend. We're making our way to the forest."

"Keep safe. You never know who you'll meet in the forest." He smiled again, slightly oddly this time. Ash noticed he wore a black stone collar around his neck. She thanked him again, and walked off. She waited until she was safely next to Isadora behind a crate before she let go of the glamour.

I found the Institute.

I heard.

She let the connection slip; it took a lot to hold it up, even for her.

The men waited a moment before speaking again. Ash realised the other man had disappeared during the conversation.

"That was too close, Gerald." The other man had returned. "She almost fell on me."

"How was I supposed to know she was there?"

"Either way, we don't know what she heard. We need to go after her."

"It doesn't matter. She's going up to the forest, you heard. If the demons don't kill her, he will. I heard he's still got that kid up there somewhere."

Ash's ears pricked up. The men didn't speak much more. There was a crash somewhere in the alley, and the men ran away.

"Let's go." She whispered, grabbing Isadora's cold arm.

They hurried down the street, hoping the men wouldn't turn up. At last they reached the old building. It appeared to be a church but had been destroyed by age that Ash couldn't tell. The glamour quickly slipped away, though, and suddenly a beautiful building stood there.

It was still tall, and made mostly of marble. The carvings around the door depicted Raziel's rising, and what appeared to be set of Shadowhunter's attacking demons. However the demons had been carved over, turning them into Fae warriors. They seemed to be losing the battle.

"Enjoying the Institute?" A low voice said from the doors. Ash looked over and saw a tall Shadowhunter watching them cooly.

"Yeah. What happened to the demons?" Ash replied, pointing to the faerie.

"They ceased to be our enemy here. It was the Fae that attacked our Institute, he was the Fae that killed the family living here." His voice went bitter and he glared at Isadora.

"And they lost a warrior when they betrayed you. I refuse to be part of a race that betrays their own oaths." Isadora spat.

"So what? I suppose you weren't responsible for the death of Fenrar Sanchez either?"

"Who on earth is Juan Sanchez?"

"A local druglord. He was found maimed in an alleyway. Two of our Shadowhunters here found him."

"Even if it was me, you couldn't prove anything."

"Correct, but if it was, I'll find a way." The man leaned in and hissed at the girls.

"That's enough." Ash stepped between them, her jaw set.

"Whatever." The man glared at Isadora one last time, and walked into the Institute.

Ash knocked on the door, and a kind looking women opened it.

"¡Hola! ¿Está buscando a alguien en particular ? Un grupo de adolescentes acaba de llegar , creo que podría estar buscando para usted!" She babbled happily, opening the door wide and gesturing them inside. Ash glanced at Isadora, who shrugged and walked inside.

"I thought you couldn't go inside?" Ash asked as she followed her. The foyer was bare and circular, with only a table and a key bowl by the door. It was white, with two stair cases going up to what appeared to be a hallway.

"I can't enter without permission. I think that counts as permission; she seems to be happy to see us."

"¡Niños! Hay algunas chicas aquí!" The women called up the stairs, and smiled. "Soy Rosa. Soy de Mexico."

"Nice to meet you, Rosa." Ash held out her hand, but was pulled into a tight hug instead. She heard Isadora sniggering, but she wasn't laughing for long. As soon as Rosa had let go of Ash, she pulled Isadora into a bone-crushing hug too. Ash smiled.

"Guys! You're here!" Rufus was at the top of the stairs, running down. He was wearing a new green shirt, with a tie tied like a bow around the collar. His suspenders were dark green. Overall, he reminded Ash of a tree, as his jeans were brown.

"Yeah, we couldn't find the Institute. We found it eventually." Ash tugged at her horn, staring at the blue shirt she'd bought. She began to wish she'd bought one similar to Rufus'. "Anyway, who's this?" She nodded towards Rosa.

"Oh that's Rosa. She doesn't speak English; She's from Mexico. For some reason she decided to come to Peru." Rufus smiled, and waved at her. She waved back enthusiastically.

"Son estos tus amigos ?" Rosa asked, pointing to Isadora and Ash.

"Sí. Gracias por ayudar a ellos." Rufus replied, laughing slightly at the girls' faces.

"You speak Spanish?" Ash said, staring at Rufus.

"Of course I do. My father was Spanish." He smiled.

"Of course he was."

"Come on. The twins are waiting for you."

Isadora and Ash walked up the stairs and followed Rufus down the hall. He went up another flight of stairs, finally stopping at a blue door. He knocked, and it was immediatly answered by Ri.

Ash was slightly taken aback by her appearance. Ash imagined Ri to be the jumper and jeans kind of person, like Alec. But she was dressed in what appeared to be wearing an indian sari. Her skirt was long and deep purple, accented by silver patterns all around the hem. Her top cut off at the bottom of the rib cage, and was also deep purple. However, it was clear to see the patterns were snakes, reaching up and around the hems of the top. Ri wore her long blonde hair loose. There was a silver tikka on her head, that stretched slightly down her forehead.

"What?" She said, impatiently.

"N-nothing." Ash stammered. "You look nice."

"I told you this would happen." Lyssa called from the room. Ash saw she was wearing a comic book tee shirt and skinny jeans. "You don't seem like the asian type, Ri."

"You don't seem like an idiot, Lyssa Silverhood, but it looks like appearances can deceive us all."

Rufus cleared his throat from where he had been standing awkwardly. "Isadora and Ash are here!"

"I see that." Ri said dryly.

"Can they come in?"

"No. You three can stay in the room down the hall. Goodbye." Ri started to shut the door, but Rufus jammed his foot in the way.

"You can't just send us away! Why can't we stay?"

"Because I don't want to be held responsible for any trouble you three might cause. A very good friend of my father's is staying here, and I refuse to make any mistakes." Ri kicked Rufus' foot away, and slammed the door.

"That wasn't very nice." Isadora said.

"No. No it wasn't." Rufus looked slightly dulled, and Ash decided to take charge.

"Let's just go and find Rosa. I'm sure she'll figure something out."

"No need." A familiar voice said. Ash turned to see the man from outside leaning against the wall. "I'm sure you can find accommodation elsewhere."

"We're staying with our friends."

"Friends?" He sneered. "They're your guides! You're lucky to have them helping you. I wouldn't."

"Fine. We'll leave. We won't be staying long anyway." Ash stalked down the hall, only to be held back by a hand gripping her arm tightly.

"You will stay and listen to your orders, Warlock."

"I don't work for you." She tried to yank her hand away, but the man's grip was tight and she couldn't shake him off.

"I am your superior and you will listen!" He tightened his grip and Ash whimpered.

"Let go of me."

"Not until you listen."

"I am listening." She felt Isadora bristle and Rufus shifted.

"Good. Now listen carefully." He pulled her close to his face and whispered to her. "You are nothing but a freak. An animal. I don't care what the Accords say. You will never deserve a seat on the council and I am ashamed that we believe you to be half human."

"You're wrong, you son of a bitch."

"How dare you!?" He thundered. He let go of her arm and slapped her across the face. She flew across the room, hitting a wall. Ash's vision blurred, and she barely saw Isadora start towards the man. Rufus grabbed her and held tight, knowing she could be killed for attacking the man.

"Get out of my Institute." He walked away, making sure to spit at Ash, who was slumped against the wall, clutching her bleeding forehead.

Rufus let go of Isadora as soon as the man had gone down the stairs, and rushed over to Ash. They hauled her up, and Ash stood still for a moment before attempting to walk.

The world lurched and Ash fell back to the floor. Rufus and Isadora let her stay there for a moment before trying again. It was no use; Ash seemed to have a concussion and couldn't walk. They banged on Ri and Lyssa's door, but they were ignoring them.

"What are we supposed to do?" Isadora said. "We can't check into a normal hotel and that bastard knows it!"

"Peru." Ash mumbled. They turned to look at her and Rufus knelt down to listen.

"What?"

"Peru."

"Yes, we're in Peru."

"Magnus has an apartment in Peru."

"He probably did once." Rufus said gently and carefully.

"He still does. He owns it."

"Where is it?" Isadora asked urgently.

"Peru." Ash replied, sleepily.

"Ash, don't go to sleep. Where in Peru?"

"I don't know. Ask Magnus."

"Already done." Rufus said, the scent of smoke in the air. "I sent Magnus a fire message."#

"We still don't know how long we have to wait." Isadora paused. "Ash, do you think you can walk now."

"I can try."

She stood up carefully, and, slightly dazed, she took a step forward. The world moved again, but not as much this time. She headed for the stairs and made it most of the way before falling on her knees. The others helped her up, and she made it to the stairs, where Isadora helped her down the stairs. They had finally made it out of the door when Rufus received a reply.

"It's nearby. Walk that way," he gestured left down an alleyway. "And keep walking until you come to a dead end. Then walk through the wall."

Isadora and Rufus eyed each other warily, but after looking at Ash, Isadora nodded. Rufus slid an arm around Ash and Isadora did the same, and slowly they carried her down the street.

As they reached the alleyway, they heard a crash behind them. The group hurried as fast as they could, until they reached the wall. Isadora thrust Ash through it, and suddenly she was bathed in light.

"Darling, that is not a good look."

"M-m-Magnus?"


	8. Slowing Down

"Of course, biscuit." He waved his hands, and suddenly Ash was on the sofa. "Now what happened to you?"

Isadora and Rufus burst through the wall.

"Who is this?" Isadora asked, confused.

"Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. Guardian of Ash."

"Nice to meet you?"

"I'm sure it is. Hello again, Antlers."

"Hi." Rufus waved awkwardly; Magnus smiled.

"Now Ash, what happened?"

Slowly, Ash stammered out the story of how the Shadowhunter had grabbed her arm, slapped her and thrown her against the wall, and included what they had heard in the alley. She paused a lot, afraid of throwing up on Magnus' expensive-looking carpets. Magnus' face had slowly knitted itself into one of confusion and anger.

"Whoever this lovely man is, he is certainly going against the Accords. And to beat a child," he added, bitterly. "Is against everything Shadowhunters teach."

Magnus shook his head as he went over to the table, which was covered in potion ingredients. "However, concerning Raf, I will look into this Fenrar character. The piece is most likely in the forest, so keep an eye out while you're there. Please," he pointed to Isadora and Rufus who were standing awkwardly. "Sit."

They did.

After half an hour of tense talking, Magnus produced a potion and Ash drank it. Almost instantly, the pain in her head faded, and she felt more awake. Her stomach still lurched, but it was less nauseating, and Ash felt like she could walk again.

"Thanks Magnus." She sighed. "God, I should've punched that guy's lights out."

"You shouldn't have. From what I've heard, he would have easily overpowered you."

"Not if I used _my_ magic. You know what I can do." She thought back to the last time she had used them, her proper, raw, dangerous magic. The kind you get from the devil.

"The kind that'd get you killed."

"I suppose." She sighed again.

"So, what's the plan?" Isadora asked, leaning forwards in her chair.

Magnus and Isadora began discussing tact, and Ash looked around the room. It wasn't like Magnus' Brooklyn apartment; it wasn't as fancy or high end.

It was very modern, down to the seemingly useless metal cube on the desk. Ash assumed it was a tissue box. The walls were white, and one wall was dedicated to "art". There were canvas' of tree and snowflakes, but also a blank canvas with one scratch in it. Ash noticed that there was more than one with the signature in the corner. The carpets were grey, and the sofa was blue and very rectangular. The chairs were similar, but grey. Above them, a staircase led up to a balcony, where Ash assumed the other rooms were.

Instead of a coffee table, there was just a slab of smooth white marble on top of a long grey carpet. It was fairly neat, with only a few potion bottles left on it, Magnus having cleaned away the rest. The bookshelf was mess of cubes, some being cupboards with plain white doors, other's being blue with no covers. Ash liked it, but it was a lot of white.

Underneath the shelf was a desk, with the cube and what Ash guessed were candles on it.

"So you can stay here for now. I have to go back, but keep in touch." Magnus pointed to Ash. "Especially you."

He pointed to Rufus and winked at Ash, before portaling away.

"So, now what?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed." Ash stood up and walked up the stairs, careful not to fall: there was no bannister.

When she reached the top, she saw there were 5 doors. Checking the first, she saw it was a library/study, with a desk and more cube shelves. It was all white, with not even a splash of colour.

The next door was a bathroom, which was grey. It had a shower that didn't have doors. It was an elevated grey slab, with a marble rim on the floor surrounding it. Ash thanked God that the toilet and sink seemed to be normal.

The other three doors contained bedrooms.

The first was a few shades darker than the grey bathroom, and Ash realised the entire apartment was greyscale, with blue tones.

The bed was double, and had grey sheets. The cube shelves were in here too, but in a circular pattern, with a mirror in the centre, forming a vanity. The wardrobe was built into the wall, and filled with women's clothes. Ash wondered whose they were before moving on.

The second room was drastically different to the first. The bed was single, and placed in a dip in the floor. There were built in shelves too, with a few books on it. She noticed authors like Shakespeare, and Dickens - not Magnus' usual Bronte or Wilde. The vanity was just a mirror in the wall. Everything appeared to be dents in the wall. There weren't any wardrobe doors, just clothes folded neatly in the shelves. It was pretty much bare, so Ash moved on. She missed Magnus' usual colour and flair.

The last room was more suited towards Ash's personal style. The bed was on a platform close to the ceiling, and there was no ladders or stairs. The shelves above the bed were blue, and that was when Ash realised the entire room was just shades of blue. She imagined Magnus stood in the room, deciding what shade of grey and just deciding _Screw this, BLUE!_ It was a very Magnus-like action.

Underneath the platform, a desk with pens and notebooks sat there, with Ash's white laptop. She had wondered where it had gone. The wardrobe wasn't built into the wall, but next to the desk. It was tall enough, Ash noted, to climb up and jump onto the platform holding the bed. There was a chair in the corner, with more shelves surrounding it. She realised the corner was a section dedicated to books, and was also a few feet below the rest of the floor. Peering over the edge, she noticed there was a ladder carved into the wall.

Suddenly, Ash had an epiphany; the room was her's. Looking around again, she saw the desk had a note on top of the laptop.

 _Ash,_

 _As you've probably noticed by now, this room is yours. As an adoptive father, I've come to accept you're insane. Whenever things get too tough, you like to go and get blackout drunk, even though you are only fourteen. And while I would prefer to witness you stumbling through the front door at 4 am, interrogating Alec on the location of the llama we don't own, I think occasionally you'd like to get drunk with hot_ Peruvian _Downworlders._

 _So you can keep the apartment. And remember:_

 _It's happy hour somewhere, biscuit._

 _Love, your fabulous freewheeling bisexual warlock father,_

 _MAGNUS_

( _Also Alec said something about staying safe, but you want to know about that Llama so bad, I can't actually hear him. Nevermind.)_

Ash smiled, and put the note down. She wrote out another one, thanking Magnus and asking Alec about the Llama.

Stretching, she teleported into her bed, changing to her pajamas as she did so. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	9. Cliches

She was awoken by a loud banging from downstairs. She jumped from her bed, forgetting how far the floor was. Cursing, she got up and stumbled down the stairs.

Reaching the wall, she made the wall clear, and saw Lyssa holding an unconscious Ri. She was still wearing the comic book shirt, and Ri appeared to be slightly bloody.

Pulling her through the wall, Ash stared.

"What happened?" She asked in shock.

"Ri and I had a small fight."

"Small? She's unconscious!"

"And bloody."

"You're not helping yourself out here, Lyssa." Ash sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Anyways, I brought her here to apologise to you. Where are the others?"

"Probably asleep, seeing as it is 6am. And how is she going to apologise if she's unconscious?"

Lyssa looked down at Ri, and back at Ash. "I didn't think this far ahead. I only knew you were here because I heard what Rufus said."

"We were out the door when Rufus said that."

"I was on the roof?"

Ash sighed again. "You might as well sit down. I'll find something for Ri."

"No, it's okay she'll wake up in a bit. Probably." Lyssa nudged Ri with her foot.

"Just sit down."

"Okay."

They sat and talked for a while, while Ash knelt at the coffee slab and brewed a revival potion. Half an hour later, RI woke up anyway. She punched Lyssa, and demanded to know where she was.

"You could apologise for that." Lyssa groaned, clutching her nose.

"You could apologise for kidnapping me!" Ri shouted.

"Okay, you two need to talk some stuff out, so I'm going to bed."

"Stay there!" They yelled in unison.

Ash sighed and sat on one of the blue chairs. Rufus stumbled down the stairs, took one look at Lyssa and Ri shouting at one another and walked back upstairs. Ash uncrossed her legs and ran after him.

"If I have to watch this, you do too." She said grabbing his arm.

"No I don't. They'll yell at each other, someone will punch someone until someone gets knocked out, that person will wake up and they'll do it again." Rufus yawned.

"Really?"

"Yup. I can't believe no one's been hospitalised yet."

"We can hear you!" Ri yelled. They listened as Ri murmured something, and sulked up the stairs.

"Ash, I'm sorry I kicked you out of my room…" She trailed off.

"And?" Lyssa had walked halfway up the stairs and was now listening.

"And I'm sorry that caused you to get thrown against the wall and sort of knocked out."

"And?" Lyssa demanded.

"And then didn't come after you when it happened."

"Good." Lyssa, now happy, went downstairs, and Ash heard her raiding the cupboards. She came back with a tub of ice cream and walked into the library. Ash looked at Rufus questioningly, who just murmured "Don't ask". Ash didn't.

She sighed and went back to bed. Three hours later, she was awoken by Rufus, who appeared to be sat on top of her.

"How did you even get up here?" Ash asked.

He pointed to the wardrobe and smiled; Ash shook her head. "I can't believe you sometimes."

"Yeah, well, I was lonely."

"And I was asleep." She sat up. "How long did you intend to be sat there for?"

"Not long. I was about to poke you."

"I'm glad you didn't. I like you with your limbs."

"You like me?" Rufus smirked.

"Shut up. We've only known each other for like three days." Ash said. It suddenly became clear to her that those three days seemed a lot longer.

"Doesn't seem like it does it?" Rufus asked, voicing her thoughts.

"No, it doesn't." She admitted.

They talked a while, the conversation eventually drifting to people falling in love after only a day.

"It's just such a cliche." Rufus said.

"I know. It only ever happens in books!"

"Or terrible fanfictions."

Ash laughed, and then they were kissing. She didn't know how it happened, but it did and Ash, surprisingly, enjoyed it. They kissed for what seemed like forever, until they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Ash pulled back so quickly she fell off the bed, and hit the floor with a thud. She cursed the marble flooring, and got up to answer it.

It was Isadora. She looked slightly bedraggled, and Ash wondered whether she had slept at all.

"Oh hey, Isadora." Ash said, slightly out of breath.

"Hello Ash. Mind if I come in?"

"No, not at all." She opened the door wide, and Isadora floated in. She flew up to the bed and sat a little distance away from Rufus, eyeing him suspiciously. "What brings you here?"

"Not much. I just wondered what we were going to do about this," She paused for a moment. "What are we looking for again?"

Ash realised she hadn't actually told Isadora what they were looking for, and quickly filled her in. "We're looking for a piece of a map."

"Okay. And we think it's in the forest." Isadora questioned.

"Yes. We're going up there today."

"We're going into the rainforest? It's the middle of summer here!"

"Yes, but we need to find it as soon as possible. We can't take any risks here." Ash said. "Rufus, out. I need to get changed."

"Why isn't Isadora getting sent out?" He protested. She just looked at him. He left a few moments later, winking at Ash as he left.

"Turn around." As Isadora did so, Ash pulled off her pajama top and opened the wardrobe. She folded the top and placed it next to a set of plain tee shirts. As she picked up a blue one, Isadora cleared her throat.

"So. You and Rufus."

"Wait, is it that obvious?" Ash said, pulling on a pair of shorts.

"Not really. I just heard you kissing."

"Heard us kissing?" Ash remembered the Fae's superhuman hearing. She didn't know it was that strong, though.

"Yeah. My hearing's a little stronger than most Fae, so it wasn't hard. Also, the door is fairly thin." Isadora shrugged.

"Oh my god." Ash hid her face. "How long did you listen?"

"Not much. I was gonna go, but I wanted to know."

Ash flew up to sit next to her. They talked for while, and eventually Rufus knocked on the door.

"Ri's woken up. She wants to go."


	10. Losses and Gains

Glancing at each other, they floated to the floor and followed Rufus to the living room, where Lyssa and Ri were sat, dressed in gear. Ash supposed they had returned to the Institute at some point.

"Let's go. It gets dark really quickly here; we don't have much time." Ri was strapping a belt full of weapons around her hips. She was wearing thick black trousers, and a heavy looking jacket, that Ash suspected contained many more weapons.

"I thought you just woke up. Where did," She gestured to the coffee slab laden with weapons, belts and steles. "This come from?"

"Lyssa picked it up while I was asleep." Ri grabbed a stele and was marking herself with battle marks.

Ash left, returning to her room to change into her magic clothes.

The outfit was not enchanted, but it was simple and designed for battle. The trousers were plain black, and tapered to the leg. Similar to a coat Magnus had been known to wear, her coat was black velvet and flared out at the hem. It was a choker collar, and had golden buttons down the middle. The coat had an inner pocket made for her wings.

Her shirt was simple satin blouse, buttoned all the way up and hidden by the coat.

Just in case, Ash slid her knife sleeve on, and stashed a long dagger in the inner pocket of the coat. And, as a last thought, she grabbed another sleeve and tightened around her other arm.

She wore simple black brogues, and her long navy hair was tied back tightly in a bun. Looking at herself in the mirror, Ash buttoned her cufflinks, and looked at herself. She looked good. She looked kind of scary.

Stepping out of the room, she descended down the stairs, avoiding eye contact with everyone. They all seemed ready for battle; Rufus wore a simple pair of suit trousers and a short coat; Isadora was kitted out in full Fae fighting armour, down to the matching pair of daggers at her waist; Ri and Lyssa were fully covered in black gear and marks, and marked in every possible inch.

"You guys are preparing for fight." Ash said, standing in front of them.

"So are you it seems." Isadora said.

"Let me glamour you all."

The glamour spell took less than a minute and soon enough they were out of the apartment, making their way to the forest. They passed a group of Shadowhunters, but they didn't approach the group; their glamour was too strong for even Shadowhunters born with the sight to see.

None of them spoke, but they were all thinking the same thing. They weren't going to leave the forest without a fight. Ash had told Rufus about the Shadowhunters in the alley, but not Ri or Lyssa. Despite them helping, Ash still didn't fully trust them. As they walked, Ash took the time to notice things she had never bothered to look for. A man flirting with a young looking women. A boy chasing after a dog running down the street. A gang dragging another man into an alleyway. The people in the busy streets ignoring his cries for help. It took everything within Ash not to help him, but her heart broke watching as a young girl ran around the town frantically crying for her Papa.

They reached the forest an hour later.

It loomed up above them a cacophony of noise. The trees rose at least 30 ft into the air, and were dense and thick. Ash began to question whether they would even find the temple. Many plants were gathered in front of them, forming a thick wall. They were part way through forming a path when Isadora spoke.

"I can smell something." She said, her nose scrunched up. "Demons." She glanced to Ash, waiting for instructions.

"Looks like we're gonna follow it. It's not as if we have any other leads."

They made their way into the forest, this time leaving a trail of sliced, magically burned and torn plants. Ash looked at Isadora, who seemed somewhat pained by the damage to the forest. She tried to stop burning as much.

Hours passed, and the group was deep in the forest. The sun had gone down, or been blocked out by the trees above them. Ash couldn't tell. It wasn't particularly cold to any of them, and still no one spoke. But that didn't stop predators from trying to attack them. Her glamour had long faded and she had had to kill more than one snake that had tried to bite her or one of the others.

Finally, Ash began to smell the stench of demons. It was putrid, like rotten bodies, but still faint. A few miles onwards, the stench was overwhelming and Ash panicked at hour strong it was. She felt sorry for Isadora, who had been smelling this but much stronger for hours. Ash was about to talk to Isadora, but the temple had finally appeared in front of them

It was a terrifying sight. The land and trees around the temple were burned and charred, but still semi-standing. The temple itself was a large Aztec building, and was coated in burned ivy.

The group stood in front of it, and Ash released her knives. They walked slowly towards it, careful to look for demons. They heard a crunch, and Ri had shot behind them within seconds.

But it was only Rosa.

"Hello." She spoke with a slight accent. Ash saw she too was wearing gear, and knitted her brow together in confusion. "I am here to help."

Slowly, Rosa told them, in perfect English, how the Clave had sent her to spy on a the Peruvian Institute. The man who ran it, Fenrar Hightower, was suspected to have kidnapped several Downworlder children. Rosa hadn't suspected Fenrar at all, but when he beat Ash, she grew suspicious. She decided to track Ash using some of the blood on the wall.

"So that man was Fenrar." Ash mused.

"Yes. We think he's planning to-" She was cut off by a silver blur hitting her. Looking closer, Ash saw it was a dagger, and it had sunk deep into Rosa's forehead.

"Stand up, and put your hands behind your head." Fenrar was stood behind them, and Ash turned to see him holding a dagger to Ri's neck. "Or else."

"Or what? You'll kill her? You'd kill a Shadowhunter? Someone of your own kind? Not to mention a child." Ash didn't raise her hands, but instead focused on Ri's panicked energy. One moment she was being held around the neck, the next she was collapsed on the floor beside Ash.

"So what? You know a few magic tricks. Let's see you make this disappear." He whistled, low and quiet.

There was an almighty crash and suddenly hordes of demons were on them. Ash, taken by surprise, slipped as a huge maggot-like creature jumping at her. Isadora intercepted it's attack, slicing its head off. Helping her up, they stood back to back, Ash throwing grey spears of lightning at anything that got too close and Isadora stabbing anything that came at her.

A demon scratched at Ash, and caught her on the arm. Falling to the ground in pain, it climbed on top of her and attempted to dig its long claws into her chest. She kicked it in the stomach and rolled over. Isadora stabbed it in the back and helped Ash up. She looked at Rufus and Ash followed her gaze.

He was struggling against a group of Raveners, only just managing to blast one away as more came at him.

Isadora ran towards the group, flipping into the centre of the demons and helping Rufus keep them at bay. Ash saw Ri lying beside Rufus, panting and clutching her chest. Her eyes widened as she saw Ash floating above her. Ash smiled.

Realising Ri wouldn't be able to hold up for much longer, Ash levitated herself off of the ground and floated towards Rufus. Her wings twitched inside her coat instinctively. Stretching out her limbs, she focused on the warped energy of the demons. Then she tore it apart.

The demons surrounding Rufus, Ri and Isadora exploded into clouds of ash. Rufus and Isadora knelt down beside her, Lyssa forming a clear circle around them.

"Enough!" Ash shouted. The demons froze, then too disintegrated into ash. Still floating, she turned to Fenrar, her eyes now burning black. "It's time to end this. You will return what you have taken, and give yourself up to the Clave, or face the consequences." She spoke clearly, her voice low and foreboding.

The anger coursing through her veins was power, and Ash was going to use it to get back Raf. She was going to save her brother.

"You may get back what you've lost, girl, but you will not get back what I've taken. If you wish to find the children, find the Labyrinth before I burn it to the ground." Fenrar glared at Ash, grinning.

Focusing on his energy, she saw how dark and torn it was. Ignoring it's disturbing essence, Ash tried to burn him away. But his energy was gone. Opening her eyes, unaware she'd closed them, she saw he was being carried away by a demon through the skies. He threw a small object towards them and disappeared into the clouds.

The object soared through the air and buried itself into it's target. Ri's upper abdomen.

Everything happened in slow motion. Lyssa dropped her weapons and ran to her sister's side. Rufus dropped to the ground, frantically trying to heal Ri. Isadora held Ri's head in her lap, calming her despite everything. Ash too lowered herself to the ground, and took off running towards Ri. She fell onto her knees next to her.

"It's gonna be okay, Ri. We're gonna go home, and we're gonna get yelled out by Mom, but that's okay because Dad'll forgive us for her…" Lyssa was gripping Ri's hand, babbling away.

"Yeah, and then you'll grow up and be happy and not dead." Isadora was stroking Ri's hair.

Ash looked pleadingly at Rufus, who was still trying to heal her.

"I can't get it out." Rufus whispered. Everyone heard. "The shard, it's stuck there."

"Let me try." Clearing her mind, Ash forced herself to grip Ri's fading energy. It pulsed desperately, as if it desperately wanted to hold on. Ash located the tear in the energy, and tried to to sew it up. But there was a glowing spot in the middle that tore apart the wound every time Ash healed it. Giving up, she shook her head at Rufus, her eyes filled with tears.

"It's gonna be okay, right Ash?" Lyssa looked like a small child, her eyes begging Ash to help.

"I can't. Whatever he threw, I can't get it out." Ash looked at Ri's face. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Ri stammered. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." She was silently crying, Lyssa hugging her twin as if she could never let go.

Ash heard Ri start to cough, and soon enough, the coughing ceased. Ri's energy was dead, and so was she.

Lyssa was quietly sobbing over her dead sister's body, Isadora stood up, Rufus was looking at Ash. Ash was sat looking at Ri's eyes. They were still blue, but the blue was a different kind of blue. A cold still blue.

The wind picked up, and Ri's body blew away into the wind. They looked in shock as the ashes flew up into a tornado. Ash saw a hand start to form, then a leg, and a torso, until a tall dark haired man stood in front of them, holding a transparent purple crystal. He was wearing a suit, and a sombre look on his face. His eyes were brown, just a few shades darker than his hair.

"Ri?" Lyssa spoke first.

"I'm afraid not. I am not your sister." The man had a charismatic tone about him, but his voice was full of sincerity as spoke. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Lyssa broke down crying then. She wailed loud, heavy sobs that echoed into the forest. She held her head in her hands, crying in pain, for she had lost the most vital piece of her life. Her sister, _her twin sister,_ the girl she fought besides, her _parabatai_. Lyssa's heart was breaking.

"Ashrith. Which one of you is Ashrith?" The man asked, looking at Isadora, who pointed to Ash.

"I am Ashrith Dark, heir and apprentice to Magnus Bane, and daughter of fallen angel Lucifer." She stepped forwards.

"It's nice to meet you, Ashrith. I am Lucifer, son of the morning star, founder of hell and father of Ashrith Dark."


End file.
